Food for Thought
Dr. Foster’s Vegan Italian Dinner
By: A prostate-friendly recipe from Jeanne Foster, a wife of a prostate cancer survivor and loving chef.
This recipe includes:
- Ginger water 30 minutes before dinner
- Marinara Vegetables
- Green salad with almonds and avocado
Power Ingredients:
- Tomatoes (lycopene)
- Garlic and onion (allium family)
- Broccoli (cruciferous)
- Spinach (phytonutrients)
- Lemon juice ( avonoids)
- Almonds (PH, protein, fat)
Preparing meals around cancer-fighting foods is fun!
We try to have marinara sauce and vegetables a couple of times a week, and the ingredients vary according to what produce looks good and what is in season. This meal is a great year-round standby.
Marinara can be made from scratch or purchased. I would urge you to customize ratios and volume of ingredients according to your individual tastes and needs.
I start with diced bell peppers, onions, and plenty of garlic. Sautée these ingredients before adding the broccoli, and continue cooking, maintaining some firmness to the broccoli. Add marinara sauce, chopped fresh basil, and serve. If we have guests, I serve it over spaghetti squash or whole-wheat pasta, but for just the two of us we love a mound of broccoli with some sauce.
A fresh salad completes the meal, and I like to use organic greens, adding spinach for extra benefit. I keep tomatoes at room temperature (unless they are over-ripe), so the flavor is richer. Also add chopped tomato, fresh herbs, sliced avocado and a light dressing of lemon, olive oil, Balsamic vinegar and a spoonful of almond butter stirred together and drizzled over the greens.
We try to drink our water before the meal (instead of during) for optimum digestion, and recommend fresh ginger slices in the water for added flavor.
As a prostate cancer survivor, my husband has been a believer in diet, exercise, and quality lifestyle choices.
As our busy lives take us off-course at times, we continue to look for inspiration and strive to be our best support to one another. We have been on an adventure since his diagnosis, and are healthier because of it.
Bon Appetit!
Originally published in PCRI Insights, February 2013, VOL.16, NO.1